Shared tours hit by Sabah earthquake

KUCHING  Sabah’s deadly 5.9 earthquake in June sent tourists scurrying over the border to neighbouring Sarawak state.
Sabah’s loss was Sarawak’s gain, but Sarawak Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said it was “not something that pleased us.”
“We have been working with Sabah for many years promoting joint packaging that are sold by travel agents branded as Borneo tours,” he explained at the Rainforest World Music Festival press conference over the weekend.
After the earthquake hit Sabah, Mount Kinabalu was closed to climbers and will probably remain partially closed until this September. One of the most popular soft adventure options in Sabah, it attracted mainly young fit Asian tourists keen to experience the challenge of climbing the second highest mountain in the Southeast Asia.

inside no 8Abang Johari acknowledged that pre-booked tours featuring the two states were ‘readjusted’ to feature just Sarawak.
“They were mostly pre-paid tours organised in advance by tour operators,” he said.
Most of the tours are now back featuring the two states side-by-side usually in a two-week itinerary.
But at the height of the crisis, hundreds of Chinese tours were diverted to Sarawak.
“We work very closely with Sabah linking destinations on Borneo island. One example is the Borneo Air Pass that features Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei using Royal Brunei Airlines,” he said.
Chinese tourists remain a challenge for Sarawak. They seek destinations that major on shopping, entertainment and casinos.
From January to May, this year around 13,000 Chinese visited the state, down marginally on last year. In 2014, the state welcomed 39, 735 visitors from China making it a major overseas market alongside Singapore with 49,059 visits and Thailand with 31,000.

inside no 8.1“Sarawak is a ecotourism destination, Chinese tourists prefer shopping and casinos, but we are also seeing an adjustment in trends in this market,” he said, noting that there was a strong contingency of Chinese journalists attending the music festival.
“We have monitored an increase in younger Chinese who are seeking eco-tourism destinations and soft adventure mainly trekking. There are also more honeymooners from China and a growing interest in game fishing that has benefited Miri.”
The state welcomed 4.8 million tourists, last year and targets 5 million in 2015. Of the 2014 total, foreign tourist visits accounted for 2.9 visits.
The dominant foreign markets remain Indonesia with 547,158 visits in 2014, the Philippines with 133,861.
None of them compare to the incredible performance of tiny Brunei, a neighbour lodged in the northern tip of Borneo, that accounts for 1.9 million of all foreign arrivals to Sarawak.
The main drivers for tourism to Sarawak are its natural attractions, national parks, the heritage waterfront district of Kuching town, plus its laid-back charm and culture linked to 24 ethnic groups.

sourced:ttrweekly.com